Institutional History

Founded in 1982 within Dokuz Eylül University, one of Türkiye’s leading universities, with the aim of “providing graduate education, conducting scientific research, and carrying out applied studies in the field of social sciences,” the Graduate School of Social Sciences has been one of the academic units serving since the founding of our University.

With education conditions suited to the requirements of the age, a strong academic staff, and a rich variety of graduate programs, our Institute aims “to train qualified human resources equipped with contemporary knowledge and developed analytical thinking skills, as required by the public and private sectors.” In this context, since the beginning of instruction, our Institute has graduated 4,860 holders of a master’s degree and 1,025 holders of a doctoral degree, providing highly valued experts to public institutions and the private sector, and scholars to universities. Our Institute provides graduate education to 5,881 students across a total of 136 programs — 63 thesis-based master’s, 42 non-thesis master’s, 5 distance-education non-thesis master’s, and 26 doctoral programs — offered through 41 departments affiliated with the Faculties of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Business, Maritime, Law, Theology, Letters, and Tourism at Dokuz Eylül University.

In addition to the graduate education and training activities specified in the Higher Education Law and related regulations, our Institute also carries out research, studies, seminars, symposiums, conferences, and similar scientific activities, contributed to by 405 faculty members and 2 academic staff members within our Institute. Administrative services are carried out devotedly by our 24 staff members.

Our Institute is part of the Farabi, Mevlana, and Erasmus+ exchange programs, which enhance our national and international recognition and effectiveness. Under Erasmus+, through a total of 73 bilateral agreements — 12 of which were signed directly by our Institute — our students and academics are provided with exchange opportunities at higher education institutions in European Union member and candidate countries. Awarded the ECTS Label (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System Label) by the European Commission, our Institute issues all its graduates, together with their diplomas, an English-language “Diploma Supplement,” valid in the 47 countries within the Bologna Process, which facilitates the international academic and professional recognition of their degrees.

Since 1999, our Institute has published a peer-reviewed international journal, the “Dokuz Eylül University Journal of Graduate School of Social Sciences,” in both print and electronic formats, four times a year. The Journal is indexed in the TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM (National Academic Network and Information Center) Social Sciences and Humanities Database, as well as in DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals), Ulrich’s Web-Global Serials Directory, EBSCOhost-Online Research Databases, ASOS (Academia Social Sciences Index), Araştırmax Scientific Publication Index, Academic Journals Database, and Sobiad (Social Sciences Citation Index).